CMS Conference: Godfrey af Viterbo and his Readers

Godfrey of Viterbo, chronicler and imperial notary in the late twelfth century, was certainly one of the most daring historiographers of his time. In his construction the Hohenstaufen emperors Frederick Barbarossa and Henry VI descended directly from Charlemagne and Augustus, from the kings of Troy and those of the Old Testament and even from Jupiter. Nevertheless, modern scholarship did not show particular interest in this writer; he was either criticized for asserted stylistic flaws or his works were downright neglected. In the Middle Ages, however, his ideas were immensely popular. More than 50 manuscripts of his works have been produced all over Europe, from Poland to Spain and from England to Italy. His work became the quintessential imperatorial history in the late Middle Ages.

This conference, in bringing together scholars from several European countries, will study the importance of Godfrey’s works: their distribution, the manuscripts, their influence on historiography and political thought and the political situations in which his works were read and copied. As his writings were brought from South to North, from West to East, and from center to periphery, the ideas he expressed moved along with them. Their reception provided legitimacy and their re-invention created new political concepts. Studying “Godfrey of Viterbo and his Readers” could therefore give general insights in the travels and transformations of ideas.